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- 1 March 2006
Transport for the Disabled
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Page: 20804
Ms LEE RHIANNON [6.10 p.m.]: When Mr Morris Iemma became Premier on 2 August 2005 he made an impassioned plea about the rights of the disabled. He said:
My point of compassion and conviction is to commit myself to... care and assistance for the disabled... these are matters of simple decency.
We have allowed these matters to slip off the broad political agenda and we need to put them back. A matter on which the Premier should act urgently before it starts to slip off his agenda is transport for the disabled. The Greens very strongly support the work of the Physical Disability Council of New South Wales, which has made a number of demands. It wants the Government to increase staffing at CityLink train stations so that people who require staff assistance when entering and exiting trains can access trains at all times of the day; to continue to implement EasyAccess improvements in the 2005-06 financial year at the Gymea, Gordon, Thirroul, Kingsgrove, Blaxland, Helensburgh, Bulli, Lakemba, Mortdale and Granville train stations; to update the network map on the CityLink web site every six months with access improvements; and to increase the number of accessible CountryLink train stations and interchanges, particularly on the southern line.
Private bus operators must comply with the requirements of the New South Wales Ministry of Transport, and Sydney Buses must comply with bus timetables. Obviously, waiting hours for a delayed bus is simply unacceptable for a person with a disability. Urgent changes are also necessary in taxi services. The Government needs to replace the existing regular fleet of 60,000 vehicles with universally accessible taxis at the rate of 6,000 a year over 10 years. The new taxis should be similar to the cabs used in the United Kingdom. The Government is urged to ensure that taxi networks in country New South Wales increase the number of taxis that provide wheelchair access, particularly in Newcastle, Blue Mountains, Orange, Queanbeyan and towns west of Wagga Wagga.
Ferry services have been very controversial lately, and they are an issue for people with disabilities. Access needs to be improved at wharves along the Balmain route, including Balmain, Birchgrove, Balmain East, McMahons Point and Milsons Point, and along the eastern suburbs route, including Darling Point, Double Bay, Rose Bay and Watsons Bay. These changes are urgently needed because people with disabilities have a great deal of difficulty.
The cost of taxi transport is significantly more than the cost of other modes of public transport, even for people under the taxi transport subsidy scheme. Access to public transport is crucial for all people on limited incomes, including those with disabilities. A survey conducted by the Physical Disability Council of New South Wales indicates that many people on low incomes rely on taxis for transport. People using wheelchair accessible taxis often experience difficulties, including excessive waiting times, particularly after business hours, on the weekend and when taxis that provide wheelchair access are pre-booked for Department of Education schedules, and because of differences in booking procedures. A passenger requiring a taxi with wheelchair access cannot book it on the Internet, hail it from the street or locate one at a rank.
Actions identified in the "Accessible Transport Plan for NSW Transport, Roads and Maritime Agencies" aim to eliminate the barriers to public transport, including difficulty in accessing information; facilities that are inaccessible at train stations, bus interchanges and ferry wharves; public transport infrastructure that is not accessible; and response times that are greater for passengers needing taxis that provide wheelchair access. Those very clear demands have been set out in a document into which I understand the Government has had input. The Premier should be fast-tracking these suggestions.
Under the authority of the New South Wales Ministry of Transport, the Roads and Traffic Authority, RailCorp, Sydney Ferries and NSW Maritime are required to comply with the actions identified in the ministry's action plan. The ministry is responsible for providing transport across the board, so it has a responsibility to do the right thing for everyone, including those with disabilities. Until the adoption of the Commonwealth Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport, people with disabilities had difficulty accessing different public transport. There has been a shift and Governments have made commitments, but much more should be done. The Premier has made a fine statement. We look forward to his action.
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